18 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 3. 
in conclusion, refer to an article on “ Poultry in a Confined 
Space,” in the number for March 0.—AY. B. Tegetmeier.} 
THE BLACKS IN POULTRY. 
“ I should be glad of any information respecting a dis¬ 
order which lias attacked my poultry, and called by the 
farmers’ wives in Devon, “ the blacks**’ and considered by 
them incurable. I have lost several; some, apparently well 
at night, and drop off their perch, with comb and flesh 
I turned black; one bird only I saved; a young cock, his 
i comb became dark, his feathers drooped, and he moped 
■ about; I gave him castor-oil, bled him in the comb, and fed 
him with a little meal occasionally. He has had two 
attacks, and is now getting bad again. He is a Pheasant 
Dorking, nearly two years old. I find the Dorkings more 
liable to it than the Cochins, the only two sorts 1 keep,— 
C. S., Sidmouth.” 
[The information here given is too meagre to found 
a correct diagnosis upon. It would be requisite to make a 
post mortem examination to come to any satisfactory con¬ 
clusion. There is evidently some serious disease of one or 
other of the important internal organs, possibly inflam¬ 
mation of one of the digestive viscera ; but this is only a 
l surmise. I should advise attention being paid to the 
, diet;"the fowls may possibly eat some injurious substance.— 
I W. B. Tegetmeier.] 
PARALYSED PULLET. 
“I have a pullet which seems to suffer a great deal, but 
what is the matter with it nobody seems to know. It cannot 
walk without falling about in a most ridiculous manner, and 
it holds its feet clenched, and they seem quite dead below 
the joint. It is not getting better or worse; I do not know 
what to do. Is it paralysed? is it cramp? or what is it? 
Had I better kill it and have done with it? or could you 
inform me a remedy ?— Amateur.” 
[The pullet is evidently labouring under partial paralysis; 
no treatment is likely to prove beneficial, and it would be the 
best plan to kill it at once. Paralysis arises from a disease 
of the brain or spinal cord, and may be regarded as incurable 
if of long standing.—W. B. Tegetmeier.] 
INDIAN GAME FOWL. 
“Will you tell me what a real Indian Game Fowl should 
be; giving particulars of colour, shape, carriage, &e. ? and 
what fowl they most nearly resemble? and if you know of any 
means to induce Rooks to take to trees to build their nests 
upon ? and when is the right time to commence cutting grass 
lawns or walks ?— An Oi.n Subscriber.” 
[The general features of the Indian Game are those of 
the English bird, but the former is usually heavier and of 
stouter form, being, consequently, devoid of the extreme 
symmetry of our English breed. As regards colour, there 
are the same varieties, and the comb is single, although, in 
many intances, where the birds passing under this name 
have more or less Malay blood in them, the connection is 
evidenced by this feature becoming coarse and partially 
warted. We are not aware of any means by which Rooks 
can be induced to take up their abode in a locality not 
chosen by themselves. Cut grass lawns as early as possible 
after the spring growth has commenced.] 
DRINKING VESSEL FOR NEWLY-HATCHED 
CHICKEN. 
“V hen many clutches of chicken are hatched together, 
there is often a difficulty in providing drinking-vessels for 
them, for any vessel into which they are able to fall and wet 
themselves is decidedly objectionable. To avoid this evil, 
we constantly see recourse had to such contrivances as 
basins turned upside-down in plates, saucers full of pebbles, 
drinking-vessels made with a series of concentric rings, Ac., 
all of which are more or less objectionable. A water- 
vessel costing literally nothing, one not liable to be overset, 
capable of accommodating a dozen thirsty little bipeds at 
once, and in which they are unable to fall, or even wet 
themselves, strikes me as a desideratum with most rearers 
of poultry. The plan to be described is so ridiculously 
simple, and so absurdly evident, that I am only surprised 
that it is not in universal use; but although it may possibly 
have been employed by others, I never recollect seeing it 
before this season, when I saw it at J. Allison’s, Esq. 
It consists of two flower-pot saucers, one a size larger than 
the other; the smaller is turned upside-down in the larger, 
and the narrow interval between the two filled with water. 
Let me beg my readers to try it, and if they do not like 
it, perhaps they will suggest a better plan.—W. B. Teget- 
meir, Wood Green, Tottenham." 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Various (Vida). —It is unfair to ask so many questions at once. If 
every one did so, how could time or space he found to answer them ? 
You oblige us to answer you briefly. White Haricot Beans can be 
obtained of the London seedsmen, and will grow in England. The same 
reply applies to the Skinless Pea, Pois sans Punchmain. The culture is 
the same as for the common Pea, and the cookery like that of the Kidney 
Bean. In what volume and at what page are the Holly leaves mentioned 
you name ? Chicory roots may be dried, roasted, and ground at home, 
iike Coffee. We never heard of the Sowthistle being cultivated as pig 
food. We know nothing about the preparation of Sheep-skins so as to 
make the wool very white. The Grey straight-eared Rabbit is the most 
profitable. 
Cramp in Fowls (Dora). —The cock you mention should be kept in a 
dry, moderately warm, not hot, place, with the floor thickly covered with 
sand and coal-ashes. Feed him chiefly on soft food, and give him daily 
plenty of green food. 
Eggs for Hatching (Idem). —No one can tell a fertile egg by out¬ 
side inspection. Buy them from a yard where there are not more than 
five or six hens with each cock. Addled eggs, however, chiefly arise from 
the hen being a bad sitter, or her nest too cold. 
Flower Garden (A Kentish Curate). —Your centre bed must not 
have an edging of anything, on account of the way the small ends of so 
many beds, or tints, point to it in a uniform series. Mangle’s variegated 
Geranium is the best-fitting plant for the centre, certainly. A White 
Petunia would be the next best. Emma and Haidee Verbenas, in equal 
proportions, that is, grey and dark purple, mixed on purpose for a 
neutral bed, would also tell admirably on your own style round the out¬ 
side ; that being as good as any other ; but there are many ways of doing 
that style of figure equally good, and with each style a different centre 
could be given ; that being the key note to the group. 
Black-breasted Red Game Fowls (An Amateur). — Apply to 
Capt. W. W. Hornby, R.N., Knowsley Cottage, Prescot, Lancashire. 
Unfruitful Pear-tree (C. B., Greenwich). —The unfruitfulness is 
probably caused by the early Spring frosts, as the tree does bear sometimes. 
We cannot give any decisive opinion, however; for we do not know 
whether the tree is weakly, or over-luxuriant; nor whether it is a standard. 
Truffle (G. Rees). —A Truffle is an under-ground fungus, much 
used in stews and other made dishes. Truffles are difficult to find, and 
dogs are trained to detect them. The person who employs such dogs is 
“ a Truffle hunter.” 
Pyramidal Flower-stand (D. S. H.). —We cannot believe, unless 
we saw it, that a stand constructed as you represent would retain water, 
if the holes are large enough to admit the stalks of flowers. Can you let 
us see one of your stands ? 
Churn (F. A. C.). —Try the Lewes churn. It is on the rotatory 
principle, and made by some firm at Lewes, in Sussex. 
Rhubarb Wine. — A Constant Subscriber wishes to know if the wine 
described by “ W. It.” at p. 426 of our twelfth volume, is to be fermented. 
Improving a poor light Soil (T. S.). —Your newly-broken-up 
grass field ought to grow a crop of Potatoes without any manure. To 
improve your soil permanently, chalk, clay, and limy rubbish may be 
added, and your cow manure will be an excellent fertilizer for all your 
Cabbages and other crops. Apply it as you would any other dung. 
Garden Mice (F. IF.).—We find the common figure of 4 tile-trap 
the most successful for catching them. To poison them, put an ounce of 
phosphorus in a pint-and-a-hall' of water lukewarm, and add immediately 
one-and-a-half-pound of meal. When cold, mix with it one-aml-a-half- 
pound of butter, and a pound of sugar. Some of this scattered near 
their haunts is greedily devoured by them and infallibly kills them. 
English Botany (A Young Beginner). —The books you mention 
will instruct you in the principles of the science ; but if you wish for a 
knowledge of British plants, buy Smith’s ‘‘English Flora.” Dry your 
specimens between sheets of thick blotting-paper, under a moderate 
pressure. 
British Mosses (V. V.).-— Mr. Stark’s “ Popular History of British 
Mosses ” will suit you. 
London : Printed by Hugh Barclay, Winchester High-street, in 
the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, of Church Hill, Walthamstow, in the County of 
Essex, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Comer, in the Parish of Christ 
Church, City of London.—April, 3, 1855. 
